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5HTC.10.1 Social Media Procedure

Chapter 5 Administration

  • Adoption: 05/16/2016
  • Revised: 02/10/2016
  • Last Reviewed: 02/10/2016 (AASC)
  • President Approved: 05/16/2016
  • Next Review Date: 05/16/2021
  • Authority: Hennepin Technical College
  • Custodian of Policy: Provost

Implementation Procedure

Definitions

Poster or User

A person submitting content to any College Social Media site.

Social Media

Social media is media based on the use of web and mobile technologies that allow for user-generated exchanges of information. Social media includes, but is not limited to, social networking sites such as Facebook, and Twitter, but also collaborative projects such as wikis and blogs, content communities, virtual game worlds, and virtual communities.

College Social Media

College Social Media includes commercial social media sites, projects, or virtual communities that are created specifically on behalf of Hennepin Technical College and exist to serve as official college communications, regardless of where the social media resides. Creation and use of College Social Media sites is for its educational, service, operational, research, marketing and management purposes. Similarly, data or links posted or transmitted via the college or system’s technology resources are reserved for the same purposes.

Social Media Accounts

These are accounts or profiles created in social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, OrgSync, YouTube, Flickr, and LinkedIn.

Social Media Best Practices

These consist of widely recognized guidelines, ethical considerations, and conventions for creating successful social media campaigns and accounts.

Social Media Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions imposed by the social media website in which the User is participating.

This procedure provides implementing procedures for College Policy, Social Media Policy. In general, this procedure provides that:

  • Each college social media account must include a disclaimer statement, in the prescribed form, regarding content and opinions contained on the site.
  • Content that is illegal or violates an applicable college standard is subject to removal by the College.
  • Best practices for managing social media accounts should be considered, as applicable, such as:
    • Authenticity and transparency
    • Protecting confidential information
    • Respecting copyrights
    • Developing a social media strategy
    • Respecting your audience
    • Creating content that is accessible to disabled individuals
    • Obeying terms of service on specific platforms

Consultation with Marketing: Hennepin Technical College departments or other college organizational units wishing to develop a social media presence should consult with the Marketing department during the initial development of the pages or accounts. The Marketing department will provide assistance during the development process to support the goals of the college’s outreach efforts and to promote consistency of branding and messaging. At a minimum, links to social media accounts should be sent to the Marketing department in order that all the college’s social media presence can be documented.

Administrators and Passwords: College social media accounts must be associated with an HTC email address, and not linked to an individual’s personal account or email address. Each college social media account outside of the instructional classroom should have a minimum of three administrators who know the account password, one of whom must be a member of the Marketing department.

Account Ownership: College social media accounts, and all of their followers, are the property of Hennepin Technical College.

Logos and Titles: It is recommended that “Hennepin Technical College” or “Hennepin Tech” be the first words of the username or title of any Facebook pages, in order to optimize search results. Additionally, the official logo of the college or, as appropriate, a departmental adaptation of the logo, is to be used in conjunction with social media accounts managed by organizational units of the college.

Links to Official Pages: Administrators of social media accounts should connect the pages they administer to the college’s official presence on each social media outlet. For example, a departmental Twitter account should follow the official college Twitter page. A departmental Facebook page should add the official college Facebook page to its favorites.

Content Management: Content on social media accounts managed by organizational units of the college should observe HTC and MnSCU policies, applicable copyright laws and the terms and conditions of the social media venue. Content should relate to the mission of the college or when used as an instructional tool should relate to course goals. Content posted to the College’s officially recognized accounts must not promote individual opinions or causes that are not related to the institution’s mission. Content should be kept updated

Photos: Before posting any images of HTC students on social media, a signed consent form must be obtained from each student in the photo and given to the Marketing department. This form may be obtained from and must be returned to the Marketing department.

Clickwrap User Agreements for New Accounts.

Whenever a social media account is created, the social media outlet requires the account creator to agree to certain terms and conditions for use of the site by clicking “Yes” or “I accept” as part of the account creation process. These are legal contracts, and often contain terms and conditions that create risks for the account creator and the College (for officially-recognized Hennepin Technical College accounts), and must be reviewied by system legal counsel, according to system procedure. An individual must have a delegation of authority to enter into contracts in order to click “yes” or “I accept” for officially-recognized HTC accounts.

Use of Social Media Sites for the Placement of Advertising. This Procedure does not authorize College departments to enter into advertising agreements with social media sites. Any Hennepin Technical College department wishing to purchase advertising services from social media sites, or from any type of publication, must follow all applicable rules and policies governing both the public relations considerations and the procurement and contracting considerations related to such services.

References:

All applicable Board Policies and System related procedures including, but not limited to: